Children, Youth and Environments
Vol 13, No.1 (Spring 2003)
ISSN 1546-2250

Street Children:
Promising Practices and Approaches

Elena Volpi
World Bank Institute

Citation: Elena Volpi:. “Street Children: Promising Practices and Approaches ” Children, Youth and Environments 13(1), Spring 2003. Retrieved [date] from http://colorado.edu/journals/cye.

Abstract

In many regions of the world, the phenomenon of street children is unabated, while it is emerging in others where it was unknown so far. Behind child disconnection lie highly vulnerable families and communities, many struggling to come to terms with economic liberalization and growing inequality. Disconnection can also be traced to a lack of communication in the family and the weakening of social capital. Street children are an alarm signaling the dire need for social development and poverty reduction policies to improve the situation in the community at large, and to prevent more young people from becoming marginalized. While preventive interventions are essential, those children already facing the hardships of street life need immediate opportunities for human development via special protection programs. This report distills the main lessons learned from a number of programs that have attempted to meet the special needs of street children worldwide. Its purpose is to help potential donors understand activities in this area and identify promising practices.

Keywords: street children; homlessness; nongovernmental organizations; poverty; local government; promising practices.